“…In cooperation with the Open Source Initiative (OSI), we are proud to announce the first of what will become a regular event. There are three categories of Open Source Awards:

Merit awards, given for excellence in an open source project. These will consist of a bronze medal, a certificate, and an award of $500.
Grand Master awards, given to persons with an outstanding record of contributions to the open source and Internet cultures. The award will consist of a gold medal, an award of $10,000, and an invitation to serve as an Elector on the OSI’s Awards Committee.
Special awards made at the Committee’s discretion. These will consist of a silver medal and a $1,500 cash award.

The awards we’re announcing today are the first set of Merit awards, also called Bronze awards for the color of the medal. These are given for excellence in an open source project. Some of the winners are individuals—for projects on which they have clearly been the main contributor. For some, the winner is the project itself.”